A Battle of Ice and Fire Part II
'Section Summaries' * [http://zbrpg.wikia.com/wiki/A_Battle_of_Ice_and_Fire_Part_II#The_Battle_Continues The Battle Continues] ** Isaac/Polaris/Senshi join the fight * Undertow ** Umbra does some shenanigans under the lake 'The Battle Continues' 'Isaac Telmar, Lake Hylia, Dawn Two' Crimson hell erupted in the midst of the Twili ranks when Polaris steered his red ice construct into the sheet of dark ice, cursed ice, that lay across the lake's surface. Varicolored red, black, and gray storm clouds stirred into a self-contained hurricane around the Twili siege engines rolling forth toward the eastern edge of the lake. Chunks and shards of red ice rained death upon those dusk-ridden interlopers who clustered around the towers and catapults. The Red Ice General was, truly, a sight to behold on the battlefield. Isaac had pulled up short as Polaris had twisted into his maneuver, watching with a keen eye. Polaris' power was unleashed, and it would be to Senshi's chagrin to realize that Hylians had fought the Twili around those engines, desperate to halt their progress. The soldiers of the king would find the scarlet storm no safer, no more a refuge, than would their dun-skinned enemies. In the corner of his eye, further to the frozen lake's northern reaches, familiar glares of radiant light blinded the coming dawn. Isaac grinned as he watched twin nightmares unleashed against the interlopers, but he focused his attention here. He would allow Polaris his rage, would allow the Red Ice General to be the battering ram bludgeoning the Twili into the ice. Isaac, instead, would do what he did best. He would play the role once more that he had played even back in the service of the King of Darkness. He tucked and dove, soared low across the ice, loosening the strings on his belt pouch until a few charred-black seeds scattered free in the wind, landing in the thin layer of snow that sheathed the dark ice. When he landed, he did so among the Twili just outside the stormwall. Confusion rippled through the ranks. Some Twili would still recall that he had briefly thrown his lot in with Commander Maydni. Some would recall that he had later tried hard to kill her, though few of their number had escaped the debacle at Hyrule Castle Town. He didn't give them a chance to make up their minds. Sickly violet fire pulsed out in a circular wave, immolating many and driving the rest back. He dared not let it expand too far, not yet, so he kept the fiery corona tight, ceasing its expansion a few paces out and bringing it up instead to form a circular wall. By the time it swirled away, his blade was out and flashing. He moved like an eel, fluid as he stepped and cut. It was too much chaos, too many Hylians pressing toward the siege engines. It created pockets of intense fighting here and there, collapsing the neatly formed ranks marching out in front of the now besieged siege engines. That chaos, that utter disorder, made it so easy for him to slip about, cutting only where he needed to, as his prey announced themselves with desperate calls for order. This was Isaac Telmar as he had once been. For all that he was besides, for all that he had become, for all that he might be, this was where he thrived, where he came alive. On this field of battle, as on battlefields past, he was no infantryman, nor did he need to rely on the violent inferno ever surging beneath his breast, to sew chaos and turn a battle as a living weapon. Yes, he would let Polaris be the hammer. He would allow Polaris to create the spectacle of unyielding, uncaring butchery for all to see. Isaac would be the scalpel, carefully excising the Twili leaders who might restore order. Ahead, through a particularly violent clash between a dissolving Twili formation and Hylian wedge that had punched their way deep past the Twili's foremost lines, Isaac could hear a voice calling the interlopers to order, seeking desperately to reestablish formation to drive the attackers back. Isaac made a line for the crier, and as he did more black seeds were dislodged from the belt pouch, pressed into the snow beneath his heel. He slipped behind a Twili as she was rammed through by a Hylian spear and driven into the ice. He pivoted in one smooth motion, spinning around the Twili charging in to take advantage of the Hylian soldier's moment of vulnerability as he wrenched the spear free. The blade severed the corotid artery in a neat left-to-right sweep as he took hold of the opening of the helm just above the eyes and wrenched the head back. Then he was spinning away again, back into the direction in which he'd been moving. Here and there a few Twili, and even a few Hylians who'd heard his name or had had his profile described to them, tried to waylay him. He dispatched these with lashing jets of flame that sent them quickly flailing away. Still more seeds spilled from his pouch. The Twili officer was going hoarse now, frantically calling out orders through the din of combat. Those nearest him had marshaled back into a semi-solid formation, but it would take time to reestablish control. Isaac slipped between the lines before the Twili realized that he was there. In a swirl of dark flames and darker smoke, the handle of his dagger extended into the ash-black haft of his glaive, and he used that haft to upend two interlopers with their backs to him, before jamming the blade through the open-faced helm of one on the other side. Another pulse of flame rolled out in every direction, scatting the formation, giving him an open shot. The Twili officer shouted orders to the solid line on his far side and then turned to meet the assailant. Spears and halberds were lowered to form a bristling wall, but Isaac was already in motion. Shifting the glaive into his left hand, with his right he scooped a few more ember seeds from his pouch and hurled them toward the Twili line, where they scattered amongst their feet. Confused by the move, he had just enough time to throw himself forward, leap and thrust forward with his glaive, punching the point into the officer's throat from several paces distant. As he landed on his feet, the officer's body already going limp as blood spurted around the blade, a pulse of heat, purest, searing-hot air, rolled off him. Reacting to the heat as a trigger, the ember seeds in the snow, too cold to react to impact as they did in average temperatures, ignited. Amongst the Twili before him, as well as in an expanding line to his back, the ember seeds he'd let spill out exploded in fiery pillars, filling the air just outside of Polaris' storm with whorling flames and razor shards of ice. Beneath his feet as the flames licked and swirled around him, he could heard the cursed ice begin to groan. 'Senshi, Lake Hylia, Dawn 2' The sun had just begun the rise over the horizon as the battlefield came into view. Looking down Senshi could see a large wave of Hylian reinforcements about to reach the narrow path to the lake. It was good timing considering their own arrive however he also noticed the Hylian Camp was still under attack despite the main front being a good distance away. The reinforcements would do anyone much good if the Interlopers took the camp and trapped them in a bottleneck. "Eridanus, circle back around. I'll go secure the Hylian side." Polaris looked back with a blank gaze and simply said, "Jump.” The response was more than a little confusing; they were over the enemy side and landing there would have him surrounded on all sides. He suddenly realized the Polaris hadn't heard a word he'd said. He wasn't even sure he'd been listening to a single thing he or Isaac head said the whole trip. He let out a sigh there was no time to deal with this now, he's simply have to let things play out. "Fine, but when this is over, you and me need to have a talk. Bryseis too." Senshi jumped from the ice dragon with Misha following close after. A quick telekinetic blast slowed their decent at the last moment while creating an opening for them to land unmolested in the middle of the enemy column. "Not exactly the best place the land," Misha remarked as the enemy troops recomposed themselves are encircled the two warriors. Without saying a word Senshi grabbed the girl and with the aid of the Golden Gauntlet threw her back into the air. He unsheathed is sword and quickly unleashed a furious Great Spin Attack slaying all that had foolishly gotten to close. He caught Misha as she feel back down and throw her towards the friendly side of the front line. Misha, practically by instinct, drew her daggers and forced herself into a spin that allowed her to slice into any she flew past. Nearing At the end of her path she flipped around to crash feet first into a large golem. She drove her blades into the clay behemoths back and used them as leverage to flip around to its front side and throw a bomb into its mouth. Kicking off the beast, she used the far end of the explosive shock-wave to propel herself the rest of the way the Hylian line. Senshi pulled out his hookshot it fired into the now headless golem at the front of the path Misha had carved for him. Also the opening he took a chance to thrust out is arm and clotheslined a sorcerer that had hoped to intercept him. The impact allowed him to change his direction of travel, and with the aid of his enhanced strength pulled the hookshot from the golem while still in mid flight. Senshi unleash a simply quick spin which thanks to the ice and his remaining momentum from the hookshot him, allowed him to cut a path the remaining way forward with little effort. Finally coming a stop on the friendly side of the battle he responded to Misha with a smart ass grin, "I don't know, I think that worked out pretty well. 'Aris, Frozen Lake Hylia, Early Morning 2' "Undead? We are not aligned with them. Dromand Hyrule? The Vault? All of creation fights against the very masters you serve, Think about that. You speak in a dialect that is over a millenium in antiquity, and you speak of factions that warred during that time. Consider why you serve whom you do. If the Twili are not exterminated, there will be no Hyrule left to defend. This includes no Zora." Aris was pleased that he was able to repel the Zora warrior with his smiting prayers. However, the fire in the sky, combined with crimson ice, began to wreak its havoc among the Twili lines, further raising his caution. He also stood behind his faction's lines, ready to strike. He was studying her, seeing if his words had made any difference. Even though she fought for the wrong side, maybe she was confused... Blood continued to seep from his wounds and he did not care about the state of his body. Pain was an unknown to him. His sword blazed with the fury of his own heart, and his glare was strong in Stella's direction. "Your choice, Lady Zora." 'Stella Delphinus, Lake Hylia, Early Morning 2' As if his earlier comments had yet to confuse her Stella was now at a loss for words. Nothing Aris said seemed to make any sense. The Twili were the Zora's enemies yet Hyrule somehow wasn't? And how could he have no knowledge of trust or the vault? Either this man had lost his mind, or she wasn't being told the whole truth about what was really happening. "Wait, what? Your story doesn't add up at all. My dialect isn't ancient, and the last I checked Dromand's factions are warring right now. Aren't they the ones that froze this lake?" As Stella spoke the sound of mass screaming behind her broke her concentration. To the rear a Twili siege tower was brought down as wood planks cracked into splinters. Beside the wreckage the culprit behind the mass killing fought in an unholy fury. There stood not a Hylian or Human, but by an undead Zora with black tattoos. Stella screamed out in panic as she watched Polaris behead Twili after Twili with cold indifference. "Oh GODS! POLARIS NO!" With the Zora's newest general killing her newest allies Stella ditched the celestial and took off running to the rear. As fast as her aquatic feet could carry her she dashed head first into the carnage. Her steel boots stained red by the blood of the fallen she climbed over the chunks of red ice that began to accumulate around the area. As Polaris finished off another three Twili Stella caught his eye as she shouted at the top of her lungs. "STOP ATTACKING! GENERAL STOP ATTACKING! Polaris, these Twili, they’ve promised to help us fight Hyrule. THERE ON OUR SIDE!" 'Whie Malreaux, Early Morning 2, Lake Battle' It was her. Somehow, someway, she was actually here. He was stunned, and for a moment forgot about the small knives jammed in his forearm. Enough that he was surprised when the chains between them suddenly slackened, causing him to stumble backwards at the released tension. Then was he reminded of the kunai pair, as they jostled in his flesh, sending jolts that set his whole arm aflame, for a moment. All pain ceased, aside a lingering, yet dull, memory of the agony, and the limb fell limp at his side. He blinked, staring in confusion at the numb lump of flesh and blood dangling from his shoulder. Two series of small needles now sprouted down it, reminding him of a demented hedgehog as blood welled to run in rivulets towards his fingers. He then returned his attention to the woman across from him. The woman he had spent so many years obsessing over. Her arms were cracked and bleeding, true, but that face remained, pristine and pure. She threw the needles! She tore at his arm with chain and knife! His chest heaved as the anger, the desire for blood, swelled. But he couldn't! Not her! Not... not again. End it and be free. This is what the search was for. There she is! It's finally her. It can be all over. Now. "Why?" he asked, as he began to slowly trudge toward her. "I did it for you. Why?" With small effort he bore his maul over his head, and brought it crashing down onto the lake's frozen surface. Magic as it was, the ice only gave up small chips to his fury. "Why?!" The next furious blow was aimed at his assailant. 'Treant, Frozen Lake Hylia, Morning 1' The Treant had been digging and filling holes for hours, laying the dead to rest in the most respectful manner it could imagine in its limited mental capacity. It worked tirelessly, picking individual limp bodies from their crumpled heaps and placing them into the soft earth below. Soon, its work was made more apparent as the morning light illuminated the skies. Wiping nonexistent sweat from its brow, the Treant picked up a dead Hylian soldier and moved to place him into the ground. Something stopped it for just a moment as realization struck the monster. Squinting to adjust to the glow of the sun, the tree creature looked back to the battle, which raged on even as the numbers dwindled from death and fatigue. However, things were different beyond that fact. With the day being born again, Treat could actually see faces and details that were not privy many an hour before. Only a glimpse at Kae once again was necessary before the monster quite literally performed a double take as it got a good hard look at her face as she danced through the battle. It was her. Memories and images from a past life rushed through the Treant's mind at blinding speed as times once forgotten came back all in one blink of an eye. Thousands of years of anger that had once been given up for the sake of a peaceful existence returned in one burst, and before it could consider things further it was seeing red. Rising to its feet, the Treant violently jerked its hand forward, pointing angrily at Kae's general direction as its maw opened wider than it had in years, creaking unnaturally from the stressful motions of its body. "Yooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooouuuuuu!!!!" Its deep voice boomed over all sound like a thunderclap, deafening in nature as it roared at Kae. Tossing the Hylian's body aside, it entered a full sprint towards Kae, abandoning all previous thoughts and intentions. For the first time in millenia, Treant was out for blood. Its body, though large and heavy, moved at blistering speed as the air whistled past its form, giving it away had it not roared beforehand. Before anyone knew what was happening, the mighty creature was already towering over Kae, moving to grab her. 'Polaris Eridanus, Frozen Surface of Lake Hylia, Morning of the Second' Polaris let go of everything tying him to his body. He was the storm now. The wind and crimson hail were as appendages to him. He and the storm and the dragon were as one and the ways in which he murdered his foes were multitude and indiscernible one from the other as his consciousness expanded with the chaos. "STOP ATTACKING! GENERAL STOP ATTACKING! Polaris, these Twili, they’ve promised to help us fight Hyrule. THERE ON OUR SIDE!" The cry of a familiar voice was all that it took to bring the tendrils of Polaris’ mind snapping back into place. Polaris, the dragon and the storm turned in unison to stare down the most unlikely of appearances. Stella Delphinus. She must’ve fallen victim to the insane time event that was the result of the long forgotten King Dromand Hyrule. Unlucky soul that she was, Delphinus had proven competent and noble, and held perhaps more that a small dose of competitive distaste for the General. He couldn’t blame her. However, it was so blatantly obvious that she was clueless as to where she was that it was beyond laughable to the point that he pitied her. The unholy fires of his one time mark and current ally Isaac Telmar burned in the distance, Polaris smiled as he heard the unmistakable creak and groan of cracking ice. His eyes gleamed with gleeful malice at the thought of what havoc he could unleash upon the gathered masses if the ice were removed and he had the entire lake as his disposal to bring to bear.. Delphinus shifted her stance impatiently and Polaris sighed. Leaping from on high Polaris somersaulted forward, as he did so the frigid jutted out further from the storm and, chest heaving, the beast spat the half ravaged corpse of Twili soldier at Stella’s feet. With that, the storm swirled up into momentary non-existence before his fists, wreathed in red ice bulged and grew to enormous size mere moments before Polaris brought them down with the entire force of jump behind a double fisted smash into the already cracking ice. As the lakes surface weakened and spidered in a thousand thousand more directions Polaris stood, not bothering to brush the ice and gore from his face he spoke. ”I fear you find yourself displaced General. Tiburon is dead. Dromand is dead. Everyone you knew, save myself and perhaps anyone else unfortunate enough to be caught up in whatever event brought you to this time period, are dead. A thousand years ago dead. I have literally chased shadows across the Circles of Hell and… worse..” Polaris hesitated. He couldn’t quite force himself to blame the Warp. The Dusk taint in his mind, the shift in personality.. the brutality.. he shook his head. “Ever since I opened the gate to hell with the rite performed with Ma’s blood.. you’ll have to excuse me. I’ve been a bit.. off. My words though are true. These Twili are Interlopers in our land. A UNITED land. And I plan to kill every damn one of the heathens who dare besmirch the banks of this lake. Join me or declare yourself an enemy of the crown. Both of them, Zora and Hyrule.” 'Undertow' 'Umbra, Day One, Hyrule Castle Cathedral' The playthings had all left. Disappointing, but not surprising. Not to worry, my dearies, they'll return in time. Or be found when the time is right. But look! They did leave this shell of a being, and so pliant it is. So ripe and juicy and rotten with morsels of freedom. Well, well. Illusions are what we see, each of us. "What do you see?" she asked, tilting her head at an inquisitive angle. He stared in silence at her, and she stifled a giggle. Freedom indeed. Her own freedom had been preordained, of course. Not the mucking about of Hylians and Interlopers and the myriad squirming quivering things of the world. The swarthy shadows of her flesh shimmered and quivered, and she squirmed at the unique sensation. To have a body at all, now, wasn't that just the most blessedly constricting freedom of them all? No groping at the light when you had hands and eyes. No no! She sniffed at Taur, for that was what it was, now. "Well, damn your eyes, then! Come up, you're boring me with all that freedom of expression. If you want to act, bloody well do it!" Her final words were punctuated with an open-palmed thrust that struck the armored fiend square between his eyes. Not a sound reverberated from that deep onyx helm. Disappointing silence. How sad. How disappointing. Normal, normal, all of it. But then, what was? Some of those silly-billy wizards who played with their magicks and thought themselves wise, Wise-ards, HA! they called it 'toying with the fabric of reality'. 'Playing with reality's weave'. Cute, endearing, despicable. Playing, toying, mucking about. Fabric, pfah! Fabric and cloth and weave and sew. Reality was clay. All of it a deep, muddy, ruddy, dark, slimy, drippy, solid, brittle, mushy, fluffy, sweet, delectable, dry, rotting, cloying, heaving, thrusting, sweaty, moist, bitter, airy clay. Fabric isn't clay. Not in the least little bit. No, no, no. No. NO! But reality's fabric? Now, that... that is clay. Dusky, dim, delicious... Yes. Calling out. 'Mama! Mama! Please, we are here!' Taur found himself submerged in deep water. I wonder what he sees now... She gave him a push. Upward. To the surface. That frozen shell of a surface, pounded by so many feet, and blades, and the fire! Oh, the fire of such a sun. Such a glorious son! She licked her lips, tasting it's burn in the water's depths. But, no. No. Not yet. Not time. Don't push the bird too soon from its nest, or you'll have a nasty omelet. She let herself sink, further, farther, down and more to the bottom of Lake Hylia, squishing her toes into the muddy silty squishy cold CLAY of the water's tomb. And she shouted back to the floating anchor of a twisted broken shell, that mass of armor scratching against the bottom of cursed thick ice. "Bring my children back to me, Taur Dagnir, and be one of them again. Bring me Shinigami, that Senshi Ma, explicitly and entirely alive and by any and all means necessary and available to you. You may have to learn to make friends; don't let it ruin your well-honed charismatic nature!" She laughed as her eyes closed, and as the darkness dropped so too did the ice. Every last Interloper Golem on the surface of Lake Hylia lost structural cohesion all in a moment, and the Dusk-infused clay from which they were made melted through the cursed ice. Hylians and Interlopers alike were suddenly plunged into suddenly roiling and deathly frigid waters of Lake Hylia. Chunks of ice still floated, but even on those which held soldiers from both sides, the fighting had ceased in a moment of panic. Not the same for the shorelines and the cliffsides, where the armies remained unaware of the calamity befalling their forces and continuing ever so dutifully to murder one another. The water continued to roil, boiling cold as that mess of golem remains, that mass of Dusk-infused clay, diluted itself. Then, it all began to swirl, swirl, tunneling downward, a vortex of watery clay, dragging with it the Lake itself, all coming to Umbra. Yes, coming home, back home. Mama is here for you, children. Hug her. Yes, there, there, you beautiful things, no need to quiver and quake and fear any longer. Mama is here. She is here. For you. 'Elly, Frozen Lake Hylia, Somewhere between 1 and 2' Strafing seemed to be effective. Staying away from him wasn't too bad; she was comfortable maneuvering across pockmarked ice, and her opponent was stumbling all over the place. He even had one arm paralyzed down. She just had to wear him down. But suddenly, he got a burst of coordination, and it led to a swift yet potent haymaker that she couldn't avoid. Before she knew it, she was on the ice, and her vision was full of a disorienting bluish-green glare. Her body went limp, and her head was spinning. As if it couldn't get any worse, she felt the ground split around her and heard water starting to gurgle and gush. It wasn't just her head spinning. Blurred vision and all, she kipped up with kunai in hand to try to knock her opponent back. There wasn't much room to move. Both Twili and Hylian alike were screaming for dear life. Aris was hovering over the water and pulling Hylian troops out, steering four toward the shore all while leaking some sort of bright gold goo from his chest. Kae was nowhere to be found. If this was it, better to die gloriously than lose to a psychopath and be claimed by the frigid waters. Offering corpses to the lake was not the Sheikah way. 'Kae Bryseis, Frozen Lake Hylia, Between 1 and 2, where 0 meets 15.' Kae never liked hearing the odds when facing them. She wove her own fortune, and she could see the Twili leader bastardizing her stolen powers by cleaving rank after rank of Hylian soldier with her Lunar Light and that profane rod. Gathering a healthy helping of Divine Light in her fists, she was getting ready to channel a blast of blasts when a loud roar bellowed from behind. "Yooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooouuuuuu!!!!" Turning toward the source of the sound, the undertaker forest being had closed ground quickly. She gave it a rapid fire blast that was originally intended for Simeon, but accuracy wasn't her concern. Truly spraying and praying, she was still grabbed and held aloft in both its gnarled fists. Unable to find what to stare at, she shouted at it, struggling against it as it lacerated her limbs and trunk. "You will release me this instant!" Reaching out with her mind, the Scion let loose a wave of psychic force at the beast, attempting to scramble its mind so that it would drop her. Unfortunately, the ground was shattering around them, as something purely heinous had come up underneath the lake. So this is how it ends. Aris, Jaden, Elly, forgive me... It wasn't about to give way yet, but the omens flooded her mind. This was the last place she wanted to be. 'Aris Mastigos, Frozen Lake Hylia, 2' Skillet - Savior Poorly. It was all unfolding so poorly. Why would the Three put them all in the middle of a death factory? At least the Zora woman stopped attacking him. Her attention was taken by the Zora General of legend, the one Kae trusted, and thus he turned his focus away. Before he could re-group with Kae, however, even before he could shout, a massive Treant had snatched her up and started to squeeze the life out of her. Further chaos ensued, and the ice under his feet was no more in an instant. Hovering with care, he saw other Hylians in the water, and he lost sight of Kae. That massive thing had to have pulled her under. Using his staff to save a handful of his new allies from a frigid death, he hastily brought them to shore, using it as an excuse to peer over the waters for his love, which he could not find. Raining pure white beams of death down on the struggling Twili as he hovered by, he kept shouting for his Scion. "Kae, you can't be gone! Come back to me! KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEEEEEEEEEEEE!" 'Treant, Frozen Lake Hylia, Morning 2' In a sick kind of fashion, it was just slightly enjoying the feeling of the Scion's body creaking and bending in its grip. Just a tighter squeeze and twist would be all it'd take to get what the tree monster wanted after so long...Vengeance...Kae tried to overwhelm the Treant's mind with psychic feedback, but such an attack did little but make it's eye twitch involuntarily. It'd have to take a bit more than that to overwhelm it; Experience with psychic power would do that for you. Reality quickly returned to the monster's mind as the sound of the ice cracking and giving way filled the air. Billowing steam erupted from where the Twili golems once stood, and what was once a battle between soldiers and warriors had devolved into men and women trying desperately not to sink into the frigid depths. Treant had positioned Kae in its grip to face it as it's crushing grip was to end her, reveling in the life leaving her eyes...But the features in it's rooty face softened and relaxed as it looked into her eyes, remembering itself as the ice beneath them began to sink under their collective weight. Treant brought her in close to speak in a grave and gruff voice. "You ruined life...' it growled in her face, frowning deeply, '...Take yours..." It considered it's next move carefully, making sure not to break eye contact. The ice was falling apart under it's feet as the water had reached it's knees. Treant was going to sink along with many of the men and women that had once been fighting on the ice. Unlike them however, it was going to be unfortunate enough to survive the icy tomb below. It sighed deeply, the roots and leaves of its form quaking in remorse. "...Later..." It growled solemnly, gritting it's teeth. As if she was a discarded, crumpled ball of parchment, Treant threw Kae behind it without even looking where the poor Scion sailed. Closing it's eyes, it wondered how long it would take to re-emerge from the watery depths this time; this hadn't been the first time Treant found itself in a situation such as this. It wasn't a matter of if, but when it would escape the lake's frigid floor. Hell was to be paid, so patience wasn't something it was willing to practice. It's arms folded as it disappeared into the dark, bubbling waters. Kae's body hurtled into the trees around the Lake, slamming hard into a tree. As she returned to the ground, the body that Treant had so carefully hidden away was disturbed just enough to fall from its resting place in the branches, landing with a hard thud some feet away from the Scion. 'Kae, Lake Hylia Bedlam, Morning 2' The ambushing Treant had her firmly within its grasp. It was vindictive. It was brutal. And while Forest beings normally had a hatred for those of the Moon, this was far different. This fury felt oddly familiar, but crushing and lacerating pain made it very hard to think of anything other than survival. Breath itself was forced from her lungs. She couldn't even cry out in pain. Drawing in energy from all around herself, her tattoos began to illuminate. If she could get a blast aura to come forth, powered by all three of her paradigm elements, perhaps that'd be enough to get free. It resisted her psionics, and seemed unfazed by Divine Light barrage. Feeling the ground crack under their feet more, she was almost relieved to be flying through the air…if this was mercy, Farore had best be with her. The moment she went airborne, her field of vision split in two, losing all color. The Edge was communicating with her to save her life. She had to make a choice between two fairly bad futures; one in which she was impaled on a tree right through her breastbone, and the other where her back slammed full force into the trunk of the same blasted tree. A future of death was not one she would ever choose unless it was a matter of how. Time rewound before her, and she felt her back surge with agony unlike she had ever imagined. She was alive, but her head hit the ground hard upon landing. Even worse, her head was flooded with thought noise interference. All she could hear was blind, unfettered rage when another corpse fell out of the tree. She felt the gaze of the one she banished just hours before. But how? He was thrown into the Twisting Nether, sealed into the endless torment of oblivion. Hate, anger, rage, resentment, all sorts of pain. As the world spun 'round her, the headache was so bad that she could only see sigils and constellations weaving about. Rotes she was channeling to keep the hate from boiling her brain inside her skull. The Scion was stunned, shell-shocked. She could only hear echoes around her, and as her vision focused back into some semblance of function, she rolled onto her back and looked up at the chaos burning around her. A handful of Twili soldiers rushed her position, having seen her hurtle through the air. Struggling to raise her left arm, she released a fury of modulating Lunar and Divine beams, cutting them down intermittently. Some were missing by considerable distance, setting trees on purple and incandescent white flame. As they all died around her, she began to get her breath back, coughing and gurgling. "ARIS! GENERAL POLARIS! ELLY! JADEN! ANYONE!!! I'M BADLY WOUNDED!!!" She could hear echoes of her paramour shouting for her shortly thereafter; she sensed him growing closer. Even as the rage from the first mangled corpse continued to bore into her inner psyche, she did her best to fight through it and stay conscious. Her vision was warping, and her back was wrenching. She was writhing on the ground, trying to stay alert, in case others attempted to do her harm. Her left arm was charged with cosmic energies; her right loosely gripped the Starborn Edge. Suddenly, she felt familiar arms raise her up and begin to hover away from danger. 'Aris, Lake Hylia, Morning 2' After getting four Hylian troops to shore and reclaiming their fates from the maelstrom that had unfolded before all sides, Aris' eyes darted from one section of bedlam to the other. His lady had to be out there, somewhere. He could not fail her. Elly continued to face off against her madman, staring death between the eyes on a fledgling chunk of ice. She was doing exactly as she had to, keeping that threat away from the Scion. This was the very sort of thing they both had signed up for. He kept calling to her, shouting out, searching. He acquired a few more Hylians along the way and brought swift endings to other Twili struggling to survive. On his way back to shore, he could see familiar rays of energy, hastily fired. Some missing, some hitting. He could hear Lady Bryseis crying out for anyone she knew to help her. How did she get over there? How had such a terrible fate befallen her? No matter, more Twili were dead, and he was near his love. Sheathing his weapons, he cradled the Scion as he made haste away from the battle. Keeping his eyes on the battle, it had carried over to land. Both sides were attempting to cut off escapes, and with precious cargo in tow, he could not risk her life further by becoming involved. "Aris…Elly…where is Elly…" The Celestial looked down at her and shook his head. "We cannot go back for her. If you fall here, hope falls with you, and you are in no condition to continue battling. I shall not allow it. Lady Shea is Sheikah; if she is meant to survive, she will innovate. If she falls, the Sacred Realm be on alert, for a true warrior will have made residence. Name a bastion in which we may seek refuge." Anger burned behind Kae's eyes. She knew he was right, but she didn't want to accept it. "My brother…will be very displeased with you…I don't like you very much right now…Eldin. Eldin is where we must go. If it is overrun, we are doomed..." Her breathing went shallow as she began to lose consciousness, going limp in his arms. He began to jostle her and jerk her around. "Stay with me, Lady Bryseis! Seek not refuge in slumber. Only death awaits there. I know where this Eldin is. I believe I do. Guide me, my love. Do not go to sleep! I need you!" 'Stella Delphinus, Lake Hylia (Ice Field), Morning 2' "...You can't be serious? You actually mean to tell me were a thousand years post Epoch?" To say that this reunion between the Zora felt surreal would be an understatement. At first Stella thought his statement could be sarcasm, except he said that with such cold sincerity. Surely such an outrageous claim couldn't be true. Or could it? The more she began to think the more that explanation seemed to make sense. Stella's mind flashed back to her troops, to the rumors they told her of Polaris being a secret time traveler. She thought to mad ramblings of the winged Celestial earlier that now seemed to make logical sense. The vast changes she noticed in politics, in language and landscape. Despite her best efforts to come up with an alternative explanation, it all linked up like missing peices to a puzzle. As war raged around her Stella's eyes widened in disbelief. She looked down upon her now shaking hands as the truth dawned on her. "But that’s impossible! No, It cant... I can't have traveled through time! The Zora Tribe needs me. They need to be saved from the clutches of Hyrule! If what you say is real, than that means..." Stella was cut short as the ice beneath her shook and she lost her balance. More frightenlly however was the heat of a fire arrow that somehow missed her. Stella turned around to find Corporal Aybek pointing his bow at her with the intent to kill. By the mercy of the gods however the ground beneath his feet smashed open and Aybek fell into the drink. Desperately he clung to the floating ice sheet he screamed for help in the frigid waters as the whirlpool threatened to pull him under. The she Zora seeing his plight ran over as Aybek lent out his hand to be pulled out. Insted Stella throttled him by the neck. "You tried to kill me!" Gasping for air and shaking uncontrollably from the cold he tried his best to speak her ancient dialect tand lead for his life. "I was aiming for the Zora. Ack!!! The red one!" Stella extended her razor fins and pressed them sharply against his windpipe. "I've had quite enough bullshit for one day. You either speak to me the truth or I slit your fucking neck! What year is it?" "2108! The day after New Years." "Impossible! Then what reason would you have to attack me?" "I was afraid you would betray us. That you would join his side." "And why shoudn't I? Zephyra told me the Twili would liberate our tribe." "We will; from the shackles of goddess worship. Once we defeat them you can..." "You would have me kill my own people!!?" In anger Stella began to push him further into the water. The numbing sensation of frostbite began to set in as tears ran from Aybek's eyes. "They serve the Hylian King only as slaves! The Hylians conquered your people, long before we were born. Today they fight us only because their brainwashed pawns. Please, you can't trust them. They'll only misuse you." Hearing his cries for mercy the gravity of the situation weighed heavily down upon her. He was telling the truth. Not only was she in the future, but somehow she had joined the wrong side. "...That my be true. But it's clear now that YOU are the ones that have misused me! I can never forgive you for that!" Lifting him up to greet her face Stella looked fiercely into his eyes. "Have a nice swim." With a fling of her wrists Aybek plunged backwards, and away he was carried by the raging current. Yet her petty act of revenge did nothing to quell the unbelievable sickness deep inside her gut. Not only had she betrayed her people, she did so generations after her war was long over. But how could this be? How can everyone she knows now be centuries in the grave? Stella tried to bury that existential feeling as she turned to join Polaris and fight the remaining Twili on her ice patch. But while her mind was on the battle her heart was elsewhere. Never before had she felt so disoriented, isolated in a world she should never live to see. She wanted none of this. She needed to go back to the time where she was needed, to fight the good fight where she belonged. Yet the more she thought of that era the more she realized she may never make it back. 'Baron Simeon Ryssdal, Lake Hylia (Under Water), Morning 2' The shock of hitting ice water sent Simeon's mind spinning a thousand different directions simultaneously. In response to a cold sting that pierced his very essence, growling screams of anger bellowed out only to be silenced as his head was pulled under. Struggling to keep open his eyes he saw bodies both Twili and Hylian swishing around the whirlpool like flakes in a darkened snow globe. Witnessing the destruction on both sides sent questions rushing through his thoughts at breakneck speed. How could he have been caught so off guard? It was no surprise to Simeon that the ice was going to break in this battle. Only he had planned on being the one to break it. The device Zephyra created was supposed to go off under the lake as soon as the main Hyrulean force counterattacked. Yet someone had beat him to the punch. Had the Twili's plans somehow been turned against them? Regardless of the cause his priority now was to get as many of his surviving troops out of the water as possible. Using glowing light energy Simeon superheated the waters around them to keep those who fell in from freezing to death. With the lake now bubbling like a hot spring he formed clawshots made of light and launched it towards the surface. Rather than latching on to something however the glowing chain was ripped apart and sunk into the abyss. Then the heat that relieved him began to dissipate. Running out of air Simeon could sense his magic working against his will as if his powers were being torn apart. Looking down his noticed the remains of Twili Golems disintegrating back into duskshard clay. The clay twirled down along with the heat and light his rod was giving off. It then hit Simeon that the Rod of Light used dusk clay in it's power core to store and control light. Something or someone was drawing in all of the duskshard mineral to the bottom of the lake, his rod included. Feeling like his lungs were on the verge of bursting Simeon knew he had only one chance to get out of this. If he couldn't fire upwards he would aim everything he had towards the source of this disturbance. Sinking further into dusk filled waters the baron unleashed the full force of the lunar light he had been storing up. In a blinding flash of blue a massive pillar of plasma fired into the waters below. With surprising force the mud on lake bottom exploded consuming the watery tomb in boiling liquid. Simeon then split the laser into dozen different light beams, each etching a random trail across the blacked lakebed. Whatever was down there would soon has his full attention. That is if he didn't drown first. 'Whie Malreaux, Lake Hylia Warzone, During the Battle' He felt the crack reverberate down the length of metal haft on his maul. It rang into his arm, and this impostor, this fake, buckled onto the ice. He blinked, and worry overtook him. "Oh, goddesses... what did I do? Leonora?" He started toward her, to check what damage had been done, expecting a shattered skull and mangled face, but before he could take a second step, the ice groaned out a protesting squeal and buckled. He stumbled as the entire surface of the frozen lake exploded into shards of ice and bubbling water. As though the cacophony of the battle had been a quiet din, now sounds tore through the early morning. Everyone around them shouted and screamed in fear and pain as the scene on their chunk of solid ground played out all around, though with worse results. Bodies flew through the air, sank through the water, clung or life and sanity to the miniscule glaciers that remained afloat. And even in the blink of time it took Whie to comprehend all of this, to drink in the chaos, his opponent had recovered. Miraculously recovered. Blood streamed down her face, landed in giant puddles beside her, but she came at him. Slower than before, much slower, but fast enough when he was caught unawares. She lunged, he moved. The ice heaved beneath them as their tiny island rammed another, which shattered, sending more bodies into the carnage of the water. He felt her bite of steel as he caught her, snatched her back from the edge of the ice, held her safe from the water. Wood clattered against ice, the rope that had secured that damnable mask to his waist severed as surely as the veins and tendons in his thigh. He fell to one knee, his left leg limp and useless, and he tightly clung to the woman he had just saved from spilling over into death. The warmth of blood trickling down his leg was an odd counter to the chill of the ice. He held her firm, tears welling in the corners of his vision. "I did it. I saved you. Is it enough? Did I... Did I make up for it? I'm sorry... I'm sorry, Leonora. Please, let it be enough. Make the voices stop. Please?" 'Taur Dagnir, Lake Hylia, Morning of the Second' "Bring my children back to me, Taur Dagnir, and be one of them again. Bring me Shinigami, that Senshi Ma, explicitly and entirely alive and by any and all means necessary and available to you. You may have to learn to make friends; don't let it ruin your well-honed charismatic nature!" The words of the most Divine, that Sacred Feminine who was the source of his substance. The beginning and end of he and his race, Her words buzzed in his mind like so many bees inside his helm. The frigid waters rushed into his lungs by the gallons, but where death should have greeted him, Her will sustained him. As the Dusk taint intermingled with the cold lake water, the black murk tinted paisley. Taur looked back to his Savior one final time for reassurance and steeled himself with the righteous vigor inspired by Midnights Mistress. 'Polaris Eridanus, Lake Hylia, Morning of the Second' Polaris thought that, perhaps for a moment he heard his name cried upon the winds, but the voice was lost nearly as quickly as it had come. Shaking his head at the plight of whatever sorry soul who had looked to him for saving, the General returned his attentions to Lady Delphinus. Polaris watched with a deep interest as she let fall this Aybek, sealing his fate in death. Stepping forward to congratulate her for her steel, Polaris paused midstride as the surface of the lake rumbled and then exploded with the force of a cart load of powder kegs. The force of the explosion sent Polaris hurtling into the heart of the whirlpool, struggling against the force of the waters, Polaris locked his gaze with that of Stella’s and briefly passed his hand in front of his face. The Weeping Chieftains Eye shimmered momentarily across his face before disappearing. Polaris winked at Stella and plunged into the swirling Dusk tinged depths. 'Taur Dagnir, Lake Hylia, Morning of the Second' The obsidian armored Dagnir burst forth from the depths with a primal roar and the force and grim terror of the Leviathan. The iceberg upon which he landed shook and shuddered, threatening to capsize before the King Slayer, dripping copious amounts of Duskwater. Pulling the gargantuan axe Tholcrist from his back the Dusk blighted Dark Nut raised it high above his head and bellowed his challenge. ”Senshi Ma. Shinigami. LAP DOG. Come. Come to me. From wherever you cower, come. You have been summoned by the Divine Feminine, it is my task to escort you.!” Taur ripped his hands down violently, slamming the butt of his axe handle into the ice and sending out a shockwave of pure Dusk energies. The Dusk halo extended 360 degrees around, Dagnir was its center and it was if he were a celestial body with his own gravitational pull. The scattered combatants were drawn to him on his lone berg, those further away were less effected and afforded the luxury of escape. Those closer found themselves less fortunate. He liberated the Hylians and Twili alike. All met their fate upon the blood soaked double blades of the Helm Cleaver. All were tossed as offal into the swirling waters behind him. All were cleansed by the inviolable waters of Dusk. 'Polaris, Lake Hylia, Morning of the Second' The Dusk waters washed over him and Polaris felt that tingle that burned all the way to his soul and realized that he had missed it. With his Eye open, Polaris saw through purple gloom without difficulty, his gaze fell first upon the near lifeless husk that was Aybek and he struggled feebly to find a place to draw breath before he was pulled out of sight by the roiling current. Next Polaris locked eyes with Her. A tingle went up his spine at the sight of her and it enraged him. Turning his back on her he swam violently away, to a spot where the flailing bodies of men and women, Hylian and Twili alike struggled to break the surface, to find a crack from which they could extricate themselves from the smothering death that was drowning. Polaris’ thoughts were drawn back ever so briefly to a time eons past when he himself nearly drowned in one of the rivers of Hell. A thought, no something more. A belief. A hope. A… something, had anchored him in the mortal world. Had allowed him to keep a grasp on his sanity. He couldn’t remember what it was. What was so important that it had transcended death. He didn’t know. The viscera of a dozen dead floated around him as he clutched the still beating heart of a Hylian woman, ripped from her chest. He had become death. 'Senshi, Lake Hylia, Morning 2' A thunderous explosion roared in the distance. No one in the battlefield knew what make of it or the whistle that carried though the air in its wake. That was until suddenly something crashed into the Interloper columns with the force of a meteor, sending the body parts infantry who found themselves too close to the impact flying though the air. They Hylian reinforcements had finally arrived and were now raining cannon fire down into the frozen field below. "What the hell was that?" Senshi exclaimed, as he like most others was completely in the dark about the new secret weapon the Hylian's had developed. There was no one around who could answer though, and before anyone else could wager a guess another massive ball of iron came crashing down into the rear of the enemy formation. "It's how we're going to win!" one solder finally yelled out. The anonymous declaration spurred a roaring cheer from the assembled solders. With their morale reignited the Hylian infantry pushed their new advantage has hard was their battle-wearied bodies would allowed. The sound of boundless battle cries and steel crashing against steel across the frozen lake bed was enough to muffle all but the loudest of noises. It was perhaps because of this no one noticed the subtle cracking noise coming from below their feet. Senshi was one of the few the pick up on what was about to happen. He'd been fortunate enough to notice to growing fissure in the ice that had darted past his feet and was continuing to the other side of the lake. He quickly grabbed Misha and using his telekinesis levitated them both into the air. His actions proved to be just in the nick of time as before the girl had time to question what he was doing the long solid icy bed shattered. Fighters for both side now found themselves struggling to stay afloat in the frigid waters, a task made no easier by their heavy weapons and armor and threat of being crushed by massive chunks of ice that were still moving around chaotically. Many solders tried desperately to climb on to the free floating ice, but in their panic and haste they often did little but slide right back into the water while dragging some of the lucky free that had managed to stay up into the frozen drink alongside them. Senshi settled himself and his companion down on one of the smaller icebergs near the rear of what was previously the Hylian line. For a brief moment as the whether he had it in him to hold to ice still with his mental powers. He wasn't sure if it was beyond his limits to do so, but if he could just calm for of the chaos for even a moment, perhaps he could allow the solders to save themselves. Any hope of even attempting such a feat was quickly dashed as soon as he witnessed another cannon ball smash into the lake. The forces above them hadn't notice the lake bed had shattered and were still firing at what they thought was the Interloper's formation. As long as that continued, even if he could hold some of the icebergs still they would just be disturbed again the instant another volley was fired. "So much for, 'how we're going to win.' It'll be a miracle if anyone survives this now," Misha spat, quiet irate with what she perceived as incompetence from those in charge. "That's not what broke the ice," Senshi quickly corrected. "We detonated a quarter ton of bombs on that ice over the summer and it wasn't even scratched. It had to be something else, and whatever it is, probably won't be fun to deal with." "Regardless, climb up to the camp and tell them to stop aiming down here. They're only making thing worse," Senshi ordered. Misha was less than enthusiastic about doing what she was told to say the least, "What!? Why they're not going to listen to me. You should just fly us up there and tell them yourself." "Senshi Ma. Shinigami. LAP DOG. Come. Come to me. From wherever you cower, come. You have been summoned by the Divine Feminine, it is my task to escort you.!" A voice bellowed out from across the lake. "Wait, isn't that?" Misha asked as she recognized the figure from their times helping those stuck in the Castle." "Don't worry about him," Senshi said as he lifted picked up the petite young teen. "Just go!" he yelled as he used the power of his Golden Gauntlet to throw her as high up the cliff face as he could. "Damn it Pepperwhistle, I knew you keeping that thing as a pet would come back to bite us in the ass sooner or later." Senshi murmured to himself as he wondered how he was going to deal with this mess. The Darknuts brutal display of slaughter when he rose from the depths made it pretty clear that he couldn't take that thing head on, but at the same time he couldn't leave it on challenged. He noticed another iceberg only slightly larger than the one he was standing on floating beside him. "Well, I suppose this is one way to test if I can lift something that large yet." Senshi focus all his telekinetic capacity on the free floating chuck of is to his side and much to his surprise he was able to lift out of the water with little barely as struggle. "This progress much in a day? I guess the couching a paying off." "Hey Dagnir!" he shouted as loud as he could, "I'm over here, and I got you a present!" Senshi thursted his hand forward sending large mass of ice hurling towards the armored behemoth. 'Isaac Telmar, Lake Hylia, Morning Two' As the ice gave way, weakened by the combined force of the Kinslayer and the Red Ice General brought to bear upon it, and broken by the sudden intervention of the enshrouded one, Isaac had taken to the skies once more. Hunting officers, cutting the heads off the hydra, such a conceit had been rendered moot. Instead he rose high in the turbulent winds whipped to a frenzy by Polaris' storm and Umbra's maelstrom, watching events unfold with his arms crossed over his chest as his blooded blade pressed and smeared against one gray sleeve and his hair and coat swept to and fro in the gusts. The center of the lake had shattered, and what forces that had done battle there now desperately clung to swirling chunks of arctic flotsam, or else plunged deep into the waters. Into Polaris' eagerly awaiting fins. From above, Isaac could see crimson blooming here and there beneath the surface as the Red Ice General took to his aquatic nature. The shark beneath the waves. "Bring my children back to me, Taur Dagnir, and be one of them again. Bring me Shinigami, that Senshi Ma, explicitly and entirely alive and by any and all means necessary and available to you. You may have to learn to make friends; don't let it ruin your well-honed charismatic nature!" The voice, such as it was, echoed across the battlefield even as Hylians to the eastern side amassed along the edges where the ice remained intact beneath them, and the Twili did likewise to the west. He had wondered, after such an auspicious emergence from the Warp, when the creature would make her move. Now she had, and it appeared she'd brought the hulking thing from the cathedral with her, only to sick it on Shinigami. That was just as well, as far as he was concerned. All things would develop in time, in accordance with his needs. That was just the way of the world these days, it seemed. Polaris was giving into the darker demons of his nature beneath the surface. He was death from below, that Isaac might be death from above. He unfolded his arms and rose higher, letting the heat that ever built around him swell to a sudden crescendo, such that the shimmering air sparked and flashed with points of light. Unseen fire raged about him, whipped on the winds, burgeoning and building. Oh, but it had been so long. Tilting as though on an axis, Isaac turned and plunged into a vertical dive toward the lake's roiling surface, where Twili and Hylian alike all clung to their bergs and ice floes, desperately trying not to be dislodged into Polaris' midst, or else into the waters wherein the weight of their armor would drag them to the bottom. The heat, the invisible fire that crackled and burned all about him, formed a retral tail trailing him back toward the surface. Only when he pulled up, spinning and rotating in the air so that his legs once again pointed into the waters, did the shimmering ball of purest blistering heat dislodge and roar the intervening spans to crash into the lake's surface. The impact was breathtaking. The water detonated in an explosion of steam, the force of which carried outward on waves which swept behind them a wall of super-heated vapors to melt what shattered ice remained and scald flesh down to the bones. 'Treant, Lake Hylia Depths, Morning 2' It floated down into the depths of the lake, its arms crossed as its small eyes pierced straight through Umbra. Treant's face scowled with a deadly glare as it suddenly appeared to touch down on nothing, the spreading molten clay and magic reaching such thickness in the water that magical beings could find it tangibly thick. A hesitation washed over Treant's entire body as it could feel the very air that emanated from the magic and clay seem to flow into and through the tree beast. Clay that wrapped around and swirled like a tornado in the depths stuck to it's body, inside and out, darkening its form to that of the golems that once stood as solid masses above. The magical energies that filled the area did the same, but on a more personal level; In the very core of the Treant; it's heart of sorts, sat a nearly inert ball of old, evil magic. Umbra's ever dancing magical residue intertwined with Treant's, awakening the power within the tree beast that had died a millennium ago. It's original strength returned to its creaking, wooden body, and with that strength...Came who Treant used to be in a past life. Thoughts and feelings that had long gone away restored themselves in their entirety as Treant felt like it remembered everything that it used to be, but not truly; Rather, a voice joined its own in the mindscape within the monster's head that knew what once was and was starting to talk again. That didn't matter just yet, as Treant was used to hearing voices from experience, and decided for the time being to ignore the distraction. It strode upon seemingly nothing at a firm walking pace as it approached Umbra while violence from above began to erupt downward, towards the two of them. "You..." it boomed, cracking its rocky knuckles, '...Leave...Now!!!" The Treant roared as it rushed towards Umbra, the water, ice and clay surrounding them exploding to and fro in an incomprehensible burst of activity from above, below and everywhere in between. At that very moment, being in the water was the most dangerous place to be, but none of it mattered; Hell was to be paid for being a threat to the forest, and Treant was there to collect. Taur Dagnir, Lake Hylia, Morning of the Second "Hey Dagnir!" he shouted as loud as he could, "I'm over here, and I got you a present!" Senshi thrust his hand forward sending large mass of ice hurling towards the armored behemoth. Taur’s laughter was akin to a rockslide, it was an awkward, gravelly sound that bespoke fear and death as much or moreso than actual good humor. It was thus however, that he greeted the oversized chunk of lake ice spiraling toward him. In a motion that spoke of an agility not often present in of his girth, the onyx plated, regicidal maniac vaulted skyward, drawing Tholcrist high above his head with both hands Dagnir brought the massive axehead down upon the projectile, sending a crack along its center mass that split it in two. Cape rippling in the gale, Taur backflipped and spread his arms wide as he did so. Purple dusk separating itself from the water lifted his original ice chunk from the waters surface and suspended the other two in mid air. As his boots alighted upon the glacier, the dark knight spoke more softly, he and his glacier moving towards Senshi’s general direction. "There’s no need for your blood to be spilt, worm. My Lady only wishes to reclaim what is Hers and you have been claimed.” Through some force of will or magicks, Shinigami did not find himself inexorably sucked in by Taurs’ pull. The same could not be said for those around him. Soldiers were bouncing mercilessly off of the glacier. Some were pressed flat to the ice and rode with him, immobile, slowly crushed against the ice by the gravity of his magic. Others fell into the waters below and where the would blossom and were added to vermillion bouquet created by the unyielding hate of the angry red Zora. Like a shrike, the he impaled those who fell into his waters on thorns of ice and fin. The waters of the lake ran Crimson intermingled with paisley. Behind his helm, the Kingslayer was pleased. Stopping short of his target, Taur extended a gauntleted hand, ”We don’t have to be enemies.” __FORCETOC__